As Phase Two of Heroes esports begins, so does the re-start of the Open Division series. Week after week amateur teams from North America and Europe will face off against each other in a tournament cup format for standing points and the chance to advance to The Crucible to face the lowest professional teams and try to steal their spot.
With two European professional teams getting knocked out last season, the talent in the amateur scene is rising as former pro players are hungry to regain their spot.
Run it Down faced Bushido e-Sports in the first semi-final of the first cup and while both teams reached that spot undefeated, only one could move to the finals. As Bushido was up by one game already the second was even more neck and neck. On Sky Temple, both sides chose fairly standard drafts with global picks on both sides like Dehaka and Falstad. Bushido went for a boss immediately after reaching level 10 despite being down on structures. With the ability to fight to level 13, take down all of RiD's forts, and capture a temple for added pressure, level 20 was easily gained along with the win.
On the other side of the semi-final Team Leftovers faced against Who Am I. Despite Team Leftovers being a more familiar name in the Open Division, Who Am I had the strength from former pro players like Cebkaje. Up by a game, Leftovers took the dominate Tassadar/Tracer combination going into game two but Who Am I started off strong hitting level 10 first then capitalizing on their Dragon Knight to reach level 13. Leftovers caught up on levels at 17 and led in kills but Who Am I kept up their momentum and tied the series 1-1. Sky Temple was a popular map this cup, as it was chosen again in the tiebreaker. Who Am I took the classic Valla/Auriel combonation with Dehaka for global presence which was obviously a good choice as they kept up enough pressure to end the game with a level 20 lead and all structures still standing.
While Bushido e-Sports is filled with veteran players, this is the first time the team has played together as a complete five-man, but you wouldn't have been able to tell by looking at their performance this cup. As they led through most of the first game, Dak and Cebkaje on Falstad and Dehaka tried to backdoor during a Dragon Knight fight and almost accomplished that, pushing the core all the way down to 3%. Bushido held a strong defense and along with a full team wipe, was able to comeback and win the first game.
Bushido next took The Lost Vikings in game two on Sky Temple, a choice that was only picked once during the recent Mid-Season Brawl and actually lost.
Who Am I made the mistake of choosing to team fight right at the boss while they lacked level 10. The game rolled from there and thanks to the experience soak from The Lost Vikings, Bushido was able to excel to a 20-17 level lead and take the first cup win.
While it was not broadcast in English, we do know that Team Leftovers won the third place match against Run it Down, 2-0.
Did you miss registration for this cup? You're in luck! Registration for the second European Open Division Cup is now already open!
Feel like you're missing out in North America? The first North American Open Division Cup starts next week and registration is still open as well!
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